My Long, Hard Road to Becoming a Hardcore Toyota Pickup Fan
When a used 1987 Toyota pickup truck with a few faults found its way into his life, Tyler Linn grabbed a Haynes Manual and delved into the world of auto resto. Along the way, he learned to appreciate exactly why Toyota trucks are a certain kind of special.
There comes a time in all of our lives when we fall in love with a vehicle. We happen upon it, unsure of what to expect, but quickly fall head over heels. For me, that vehicle was my first Toyota pickup. It was not the prettiest thing around. The truck had several fully-formed patches of rot. It had a peeling clear coat and several dings. But to me, it was perfect.
I had never explicitly sought to acquire an old Toyota. To be honest, Toyota wasn’t truly even on my radar. But that all changed with this truck. This is the story of that special truck, perhaps my most beloved vehicle; this is the story of “Revan,” my 1987 Toyota pickup.
Humble Beginnings
In early August of 2015, I was driving a car that oozed sex-appeal: a 2000 Plymouth Voyager. I was embarrassed to be seen in it more often than not. It surely wasn’t winning me any points for style.
I didn’t drive it by choice, rather by necessity. I was a dirt-poor 21-year-old whose Honda Accord had just bit the dust. My mother offered it to me as a gift, so how could I refuse? But still, I wasn’t exactly excited by the notion of driving around in a mom van. It was a big sucker-punch to my ego. 
Nonetheless, I drove it and enjoyed the extra cargo room. I had even removed the rear seats to further add space. With this additional space and lack of finances, I decided to start a junk removal business. I resolved to use the van to save up enough funds to purchase a work truck. But fate would have things differently.
The First Toyota: Divine Intervention
To get my business going, I made a website, ordered business cards, and started to get the word out. And as destiny would have it, during that first week of entrepreneurial effort, I received a very special phone call.
I had never even casually admired an old Toyota truck, but here I was–awestruck. It was gorgeous. It was truly love at first sight.
Matt, a friend of mine from church, had heard about my little startup. He wanted me to come pick something up for him, so I happily agreed. This was my first client and I was stoked! As I arrived at the apartment complex Matt met me outside with a big grin on his face. I got out of my vehicle and he smiled even bigger. “Here’s my junk, man!” he said.
I looked around slightly confused. Then it dawned on me, he meant his truck. There sat a gorgeous, nearly-stock 1987 4×2 Toyota pickup. The lone modification was a Weber carb. I was at a total loss for words. I had never even casually admired an old Toyota truck, but here I was–awestruck. It was gorgeous. It was truly love at first sight.
As I stood there, gaping, Matt explained that he felt he was supposed to give me this truck. I was elated. It was a divinely-appointed moment for me.
The Honeymoon
After taking ownership of the truck, I drove it home. For a 30-year-old machine, my Toyota ran unbelievably well. It was one of the most exciting moments of my life. I felt like I had been transported back to a simpler time. As I familiarized myself with my new ride, I became even more enamored. I began to contemplate all of the adventures and jobs I might take this truck on.
Among the features that I fell in love with were the vent windows. This simplistic yet effective characteristic made up for the lack of A/C. Additionally, I loved the interior. Everything was simple and easy to use. The truck also had a classic, rugged design that felt timeless. Lastly, under the hood sat a straightforward setup. No fluff. Discerning what was what came easy.
I quickly bought a Hayne’s manual and started to learn about the truck as often as possible. Hours were spent on YouTube researching mods, tips, and history. I also joined several forums, including YotaTech. I was fully immersed.
‘For a 30-year-old machine, my Toyota ran unbelievably well. It was one of the most exciting moments of my life. I felt like I had been transported back to a simpler time…For the first time in my life, I truly felt like I had a vehicle that fit me.’
Shortly afterward, I did my usual sticker placement. This has become a ritualized rite of passage for all of my vehicles. This is no exaggeration, I spent several hours online looking for the right stickers to fit the personality of both myself and the truck. And to help further my business, I also custom-ordered decals for the tailgate.
After they arrived, I played around with placement options. I settled on a layout I felt suited the truck and released a great sigh of accomplishment. This truck was mine. For the first time in my life, I truly felt like I had a vehicle that fit me.
Work & Repairs
I quickly began taking on various junk-removal jobs, several of which more than stressed the under-powered yet reliable 22R engine Revan housed. Revan wasn’t peppy by any means, but the long bed more than made up for any time I lost on the job site. And the engine held up just fine.
My first run-in with repairs was rather serious, though. My lack of mechanical knowledge only compounded this issue. Before owning Revan, the most intensive work I’d ever done was refreshing the stuck caliper slide pins on my Accord. My first repair on Revan turned into a brake system overhaul.
One day as I was towing a small loaded trailer, I applied my brakes and felt a godawful crunching. I knew something wasn’t right. Luckily, I was close to home. I parked the trailer and pulled into the driveway to inspect.
When I laid eyes on the culprit, two things went through my mind:
- I’m stupid.
- That’s not good.
I had completely overlooked checking the brake pads when I acquired Revan. Like an idiot, I assumed the pads had squeal indicators. Don’t they all? Nope.
One pad had worn down so thin that it slipped out of the bracket and lodged itself between the caliper bracket and rotor. It gouged ravines in my rotor like the Grand Canyon.
Over the next few days, I replaced both front rotors and all pads, bled the brakes, and re-greased the slide pins and bearings. It was a lot of work for someone with my lack of experience, but I learned a lot. After I got everything running properly, I felt so accomplished.
Further Complications
As time went on and I began to rack up the mileage, Revan naturally needed maintenance work. Unfortunately, I was unaware of one of these needs in particular. This cost me a lot of money and many headaches. But once again, I learned a great amount.
One day I was driving and noticed that my truck was responding a bit sluggishly. I searched in my Haynes manual and online trying to nail down the problem. I worked my way up from the cheapest fixes in an attempt to remedy the situation.
First I replaced the fuel filter. This did nothing. I then replaced my spark plugs, wires, and distributor cap. Still, nothing. I then replaced the fuel pump. The hesitation persisted. I was at a loss for what it could be.
Then one day my truck started running hot. This added to my frustration as I couldn’t understand what was going on. Like I said before, I was new to this. I ended up replacing the radiator cap, suspecting it had a pressure leak. I also replaced the thermostat and coolant.
Revan began running even worse over the next two weeks. Finally, it occurred to me to check the oil. I removed my oil cap and found it was covered in chocolate milk.
The Rebuild
My poor 22R had coolant and oil mixing. I had driven it like that for two weeks! Even while overheating many times in that span, it still kept running. After that experience, no one can convince me theses trucks aren’t bulletproof.
I had Revan towed to my home and I began working. My brother-in-law came over and we quickly removed as much as we could. We pulled the carb, intake manifold, valve cover, hoses, belts, and more. I felt uncomfortable proceeding any further with my limited knowledge, so I sent Revan off to a shop to be finished up.
The culprit was not the head gasket as I had first assumed. It turned out to be the timing chain. Right on time (around 140,000 miles) it loosened up and wore through the plastic chain guides. After doing so, the chain loosened further and wore a small hole in the chain cover. Oil and coolant were now desegregated.
Despite my misfortunes, I grew to love Toyota’s core principles of durability, reliability, and quality. When taken care of, these vehicles will last a lifetime. Even under severe abuse, that 22R kept going.
I bought the necessary replacement parts from Buck’s Engine Parts, a local shop in South Carolina. This constituted a new chain, metal-backed chain guides, water pump, oil pump, and gaskets. I brought them to my mechanic, Dallas, and let him work his magic.
Remarkably, the head hadn’t warped at all from the overheating. Nevertheless, we sent it off to get resurfaced anyways. After it came back, Dallas put everything back together and got Revan running again. He charged me a mere $500. I was greatly relieved to have my truck back and my bank account still intact.
Despite my misfortunes, I grew to love Toyota’s core principles of durability, reliability, and quality. I saw that when taken care of, these vehicles will last a lifetime. Even under severe abuse, that 22R kept going.
Modding Out
Over the years I made several modifications to Revan. The first of which was a set of blind spot mirrors to ease my travels.
I also installed a small console on the floorboard where a stick might have been, had it been a manual.
To aid performance I performed a small desmog operation on my ’87 Yota. I removed several parts that the YotaTech forum members deemed unnecessary, and their respective hoses. On top of that, I replaced my PCV with a breather. But, my favorite performance mod was installing EGR block-off plates from LCE.
Visually, I didn’t do anything to Revan. I liked the rough look of my older truck. I did, however, make a custom seat cover. This was one of my favorite projects. I purchased a grommet kit and a Baja blanket and got to work.
I removed the seats from the truck and gauged how the blanket would best serve as a cover. Subsequently, I cut holes for the seat belts and installed the grommets. I then attached the cover.
I was really digging the look of this mod. After reinstalling the seats, my wife Jess and I took Revan for a night drive, captured in the picture above.